Discussion: Diagnostic bias data on Libby asbestos hazard

Diagnostic bias data: Libby asbestos hazard could elevate death stats.

The attorneys at the personal injury law firm of Weitz & Luxenberg have decades of experience defending victim’s rights in practice areas that include: accidents/general injury, dangerous drugs, medical malpractice, and environmental pollutants.

NEWS UPDATE:

Diagnostic bias data could also erroneously contribute to elevated asbestos mortality statistics in Libby. The diagnosis of asbestosis is typically made through the combination of a physical examination and a thorough occupational history.

If the patient has a restrictive respiratory disorder and has a strong occupational history of potential asbestos exposure, the physician is likely to diagnose asbestosis.

However, for the 11 cases of asbestosis documented in this mortality review, eight different physicians diagnosed asbestosis. Three of these physicians did not practice in Libby or in Lincoln County.

Therefore, the broad number of physicians diagnosing asbestosis in the Libby study population diminishes the potential that diagnostic bias is solely responsible for the increase in asbestosis mortality.

A greater effort was made to ascertain the residential history for decedents listing the Libby Care Center as their last known address. This attempt to gather accurate residential history for a select group within the study population may have introduced an information bias.

However, ATSDR thought it important to pursue gathering this data since residential location was an integral part of the mortality review.

Courtesy of the ATSDR and the CDC